| Field Trip Description: The processes shaping our rivers and beaches essentially were the same in the past as they are today, but where we find the deposits from ancient bays and beaches and rivers has changed. Geologists must understand the processes that influence deposition and change in these different environments, and then map the older deposits carefully to reconstruct the geologic history of the Texas coast. Understanding the distribution of the deposits and the processes that formed and changed them helps petroleum industry geologists better predict where oil and gas may form, move, and be found along the Texas coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. During this field trip we will visit and discuss depositional environments of river, delta, beach, and ocean to understand the processes that shape them and how they may have responded to sea-level changes of the past. In particular, we will focus on the formation and evolution of barrier islands, such as Galveston Island, in the context of sea level change. We will discuss the role geology plays (or does not play!) in the formation of public policy on the island and why it is in citizens’ best interest to educate themselves on these issues. |